Best Practice for Sensory Screening in Older
Adults by Occupational Therapists: Where are we and where should we
be?

It is currently unclear to what extent elements relevant to sensory
impairment detection and screening (vision and/or hearing loss)
should be included in the core-educational process of occupational
therapists (OTs). The current employment environments for OTs
include several growing clientele groups that require specific
attention in service delivery based on their visual and hearing
capacities. These groups are comprised of older adults (some with
multiple chronic health conditions), patients with an acquired
brain injury and persons requiring assistance with diabetes
management. Given the current change in demographics in developed
countries, improved diagnostic techniques for the detection of
cortical trauma and the increase in the prevalence of diabetes
mellitus, this clientele is dramatically going to increase in the
coming decades. As sensory impairment is often a co-morbid
condition in these clients, and as vision and hearing impairment
can dramatically interfere with rehabilitation service delivery, it
is of the utmost importance to detect such sensory losses in order
to be able to properly compensate with the necessary adaptations
and/or refer to further required services. Therefore, the present
study aims to identify whether there is a gap between
evidence-based recommendations for the detection of sensory loss
and the current practices in Quebec OT educational and employment
settings.

Researchers:

Daphne Mulrooney, OT, MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre

Walter Wittich, Ph.D., FAAO, CLVT, MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation
Centre

Aliki Thomas, OT, Ph.D., School of Physical and Occupational
Therapy, McGill University

Kenneth Southall, Ph.D., Institut Raymond Dewar

Olga Overbury, Ph.D., School of Optometry, University of
Montreal, Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University

Elizabeth Barstow, OT, Ph.D., Department of Occupational
Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham